A few thoughts on cooking, eating and the world of food from Mantia's International Foods, Memphis, Tennessee. Once a popular shop, now only a cherished memory!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

A great salad for the season!

What’s with this weather? We
should still be making warming soups to ward off the chill of spring
showers, and instead I already have my herb garden planted and growing nicely.

We
were having guests last weekend and I wanted something easy, that I could do
ahead, and definitely not hot. A salad
perhaps? But good summer salad vegetables aren’t ready yet, so I was leafing
through some of my old cooking class recipes. I came across a Sicilian style
chicken salad that seemed perfect.

Any
time Sicilian cuisine is mentioned I think “citrus” because all sorts of
citrus, especially oranges, grow wild on the island. And a little spice is
always welcome to a Sicilian as well.

It’s
not unusual in several regional Italian cuisines to serve warm main course food
on a bed of greens that then become slightly wilted. Arugula works perfectly here; the slightly
bitter taste is the perfect foil to the sweet and spicy dressing.

You
can do the chicken and peppers ahead a bit and let set up to an hour or so, or
refrigerate. Then heat them in the oven
to warm back up. The asparagus could
roast at the same time. Bring the dressing up to a simmer and you have a
perfect main course for guests, and all you’d need to go with it is good crusty
bread to soak up the juices.

Sicilian Springtime Chicken Salad

2 red bell peppers, stemmed,
seeded, cut into 1/2” strips

4 plump cloves of garlic, peeled

1/3 cup good fruity olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 ½ lbs. chicken breasts,
boneless, skinless

Finely grated zest of one large
orange

¾ cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1 lb. asparagus, tough stem ends
snapped off

2 tbsp. honey

1 big pinch crushed red pepper
flakes (or more to taste)

2 tbsp. additional olive oil

4 cups arugula

A good sized chunk of pecarino
romano or asiago cheese

Preheat
the oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow baking pan, toss the pepper strips and
garlic cloves with the olive oil. Roast
for about 15 minutes, stirring a time or two.
Lay the chicken breasts in one layer on top and brush with some of the
oil from the pan. Mix the zest and juice
of the orange with the additional orange juice and pour over the top. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and
roast until the chicken is tender, about 15 minutes more.

Meanwhile,
on a baking sheet, spread the asparagus in one layer. Brush with the 2
tablespoons additional olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in
the same oven for about ten minutes. Set aside.

Remove
the chicken, peppers and garlic to a platter and tent with foil. Pour the juices from the roasting pan into a
saucepan and add the honey and pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and let it
bubble gently for about five minutes.

Slice
the warm chicken breasts about ¼ thick. Toss the arugula with a couple of
tablespoons of the dressing and put on a platter. Arrange the chicken breast
slices, the peppers and garlic, and the asparagus on top. Drizzle with a bit more of the dressing. Pass the remaining dressing at the table, and
pass the cheese with a grater to be added by each guest as desired. Serves four
very generously.